Page 17 of The Duke's Second Bride
“I was not aware, no,” he said, stiffly, his tone poorly masking his regret.
“That’s our Christian,’ Vincent chuckled, shaking his head. “You never did pay any attention to the gossip mill, did you?” At another sour look from Christian, he raised his hands defensively. “I never said it was a bad thing! If anything, I rather think it is one of your better qualities. Go on.”
“Well,” Christian continued, doing his best not to grumble. “After that, we ran into each other at the Aberton’s garden party this afternoon.”
“Ah, that was today, wasn’t it?” Vincent mused. “James took ill, and so Sophia insisted on staying home to keep an eye on him, and I could hardly go without her. He seems much better this evening, before you ask after him. In any case, I missed the party. How was it? You say Lady Dunfair was there again? You ran into her?”
Christian nodded. “Or, to be more precise, Luke ran into her. He was …” He hesitated, not wanting to betray his son by speaking of the issue. “You know Luke has some difficulties speaking, on occasion,” he said carefully. “That is, he stutters. When he is overwrought, or when people are being unkind to him. Whichsome of the adults at the gathering were.” He thought again of Lord Dunfair, and his lip curled into a snarl.
“Of course. It’s bad luck,” Vincent said sympathetically. “Though I’m certain he’ll grow out of it. Perfectly common for children of that age, no?”
“Perhaps. But what is funny is—it seemed to briefly improve this afternoon,” Christian said. “When I found him with Av—with Lady Dunfair, she and I had a bit of a back and forth. Once again, I felt she was being … presumptuous. But then Luke told me not to speak to Lady Dunfair so. And he didn’t stutter once while he said it.”
Vincent pursed his lips into a surprised moue. “Well, well, well,” he said, musing over this new revelation.
“His new tutor and physician both suggested limited exposure to certain small social gatherings could be helpful for him,” Christian continued. “That is why I took him to the garden party in the first place. Once must feel encouraged, that it seemed to help in such a rapid manner.”
Vincent shrugged. “Or perhaps it was due to Lady Dunfair’s influence,” he pointed out. “You said she ran to him. He seems to have taken a liking to her, no? At the very least, he must trust her after that incident with the horse. Perhaps her influence is calming to him, such that it allows him to speak more clearly.”
Christian scoffed. “I highly doubt that is the case. I will say, you seem awfully interested in speaking of Lady Dunfair, when the topic at hand is my son’s wellbeing,” he said.
“I don’t know if I am the one awfully interested in Lady Dunfair,” Vincent grinned, which only served to stoke Christian’s ire further.
“I mean it!” he said, as the other man’s smile broke down into increasingly amused and delighted laughter. “You’re incorrigible. If anything, I think I would like to keep Lady Dunfair as far away from my son as possible. With all the rumors surrounding her and her late husband?—”
“Ah, so you have heard the rumors?”
“You just spoke of them!”
“Only one. Aside from speaking ill of his wife, the late Lord Dunfair was also a bit of a Don Juan, it would seem. Very much enjoyed playing the philanderer. He was most indiscreet about his affairs, though I never once heard any indication that his wife confronted him about that, in public or otherwise. Evidently, he used the accusations of his wife’s frigidity to justify his infidelity.”
“Well, in that case,” Christian said, through his shock, “I would say once more that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be discerning about the kind of person that is allowed around my son!”
“Surely you’d agree some of those rumors are unfair,” Vincent said. “I do not know much of Lady Dunfair myself, but she doesn’t seem to be a shrew or a harpy. And in any case, it seems rather uncouth to blame one’s own indiscretions on one’s wife.”
“I—” Here Christian had to stop. It was true that, based on what he’d seen of Lady Dunfair, all the accusations seemed both unfair and untrue. “You only say that because you and Sophia are so foolishly besotted with each other,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes at the silly smile that immediately spread across his friend’s face.
It was true. Vincent and Sophia had, against all odds, managed to achieve that rarest of things: a true love match, from the moment they met. And it seemed that, across the years, they had only fallen more and more in love as time went on. Obstacles such as finances and children had only served to bring their marriage more strength, and to bring the two of them closer together.
“Regardless of whatever reputation Lady Dunfair has—however fairly or unfairly earned,” Christian said, trying to make his point before his friend shook out of his love-struck daze to counter-argue with him, “none of that has any bearing on my personal experiences with her. Repeatedly, I have found her to be quarrelsome, high-spirited, and a passionate debater. Moreover, she has time and time again inserted herself into Luke’s and my life, offering help where it was unasked for.”
Vincent chuckled. “Most of those hardly sound like complaints,” he said, with a tilt of his head. “You know, it is perfectly all right to have desires, my friend.”
Christian furrowed his brow. “My only desire is to see my son improve,” he said, “as would any father.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “You dense fool. I am speaking not of a father’s desires, but of aman’s.”
Christian’s mouth slammed shut. When he had finally collected himself enough, he could only sputter. “Y—I—Don’t be ridiculous, Vincent.” He cleared his throat. “I warn you, another such presumptuous remark, and?—”
Vincent stopped him with a hand raised. “Spare me the threats, Christian.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I am going home. I have a beautiful wife waiting for me in bed.” As he stood, Christian could say nothing in response. Before he left for good, Vincent turned around once more to address his friend. “It isn’t wrong for you to want the same thing, Christian.”
Christian waved his friend off. “That is not my priority.”
“I’m well aware of that. You’ve been alone a long time. I simply think you deserve to have some company, for once.” He tipped his head. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
As he watched his happily married friend exit the gentlemen’s club, Christian couldn’t help but mull over Vincent’s words.
